Name: The Men from the Mill (political)
Duration: 3 min 5 s
Channel: L.J. Montgomery
Description: "The Men from the Mill (political)" is a song by LJ Montgomery. U.S. taxpayers should get ready for a bailout of the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp as the airlines pile on their reneged promises.

The Men from the Mill (political)

LJ Montgomery

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U.S. taxpayers should get ready for a bailout of the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp as the airlines pile on their reneged promises.

instrumental folk showtunes protest cinematic themes pop diva

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LJ Montgomery

L.J. Montgomery is a self taught guitarist, keyboardist, bassist, drummer who has decided that for his mid-life crisis he would devote some time to practicing a

I can't seem to stick with any one particular genre so what's here is mostly a hodge-podge of stuff that I may come back to work on at some future date. My more "finished" stuff will be available soon at montgomedia.com.

Song Info

Genre

Acoustic • Acoustic Folk

Charts

Peak #190

Peak in subgenre #28

Author

L.J. Montgomery

Rights

2003 by L.J. Montgomery

Uploaded

November 26, 2003

Track Files

MP3

MP3 2.8 MB • 128 kbps • 3:05

Story behind the song

"The Point" = Bethlehem Steel's Sparrows Point plant

http://tinyurl.com/4zse2 has a good  article on the plight of Beth Steel retirees .
(The Baltimore Sun article that prompted this is no longer available online)

From http://tinyurl.com/7x3bd
"The troubled government agency that stands behind the nation's corporate pension plans is suffering mounting losses and could be forced to seek a taxpayer bailout, the agency's director said Tuesday...."

From http://tinyurl.com/5d745 
"For individuals, the law includes cuts in rates at which long-term capital gains and stock dividends will be taxed. Rates for both long-term capital gains and dividends have been reduced to 5 percent from 10 percent for taxpayers in the two lowest tax brackets. For taxpayers whose income falls in higher tax brackets, those rates have been cut to 15 percent from 20 percent."

Lyrics

A Job at "The Point"

Fresh out of high school 
..back in ‘61
He got a job at "the Point,"
..got married, had a son
And he worked in the fumes 
..the asbestos and dust
And it was dangerous 

By the open hearths 
..in the heat and the cold 
He saw a few men die.
..but he would grow old
And the promise of a pension 
..helped him put in his time
Plus the overtime


Now the company’s gone,
..their promise no good
The executives still live 
..in swanky neighborhoods
They’ve got friends in the White House 
..and friends on the Hill
So no one gives a damn 
..about the men from the mill

Now the ovens are cold 
..and the conveyors are still
And abandoned railroad tracks
..criss-cross the old mill
The ones who made the steel 
..that made America strong
Are barely hanging on

 


But we'll cut taxes for those with 
..big capital gains
They can’t be expected 
..to share in the pain
When the bankruptcy laws 
..allow their companies
To renege on their promises 
..to their employees

So now the burden falls upon 
..the PBGC
Taxpayers may end up with 
..the liability
But for a fraction of what
..the union contract said 
Had been promised

Now he looks back in anger
..for having believed
That money had been set aside
..for retirees
Health insurance and a pension had been
..promised for life…

But how long a life…


Copyright (c) 2003 by LJ Montgomery

PBGC = Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation

"The Point" = Beth Steel's Sparrows Point plant

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